ELECTIONS / HAWTHORNE : Mayor Race Heats Up With Charges of ‘Mud-Slinging,’ ‘Slimy’ Politics

Until recently, the candidates for mayor and two City Council seats in Hawthorne were locked in debate over traditional campaign issues like high crime, overdevelopment and spending at City Hall.

But in the last 10 days, as the Nov. 5 election looms, those issues have been eclipsed by charges and countercharges stemming from allegations that one mayoral hopeful, Councilwoman Ginny McGinnis Lambert, may have violated the state’s open meetings law last summer.

Lambert is running against Councilman Steve Andersen for mayor, a post that has the same voting powers as that of a council member but is considered more prestigious. Six candidates, including current Mayor Betty J. Ainsworth, are vying for the at-large seats that Lambert and Andersen will vacate in December.

The accusation against Lambert was leveled at a council meeting Oct. 14 by Councilman David York, who accused her of secretly lobbying the Planning Commission to postpone a vote on a controversial, 94-unit condominium project last July. Later, City Atty. Michael Adamson accused Lambert of threatening him with a lawsuit--and the loss of his job--unless he halted his investigation of the matter.

Lambert denies the original accusations, as well as the charge that she threatened Adamson. She has asked the State Bar of California and the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office to examine whether Adamson’s investigation of her constitutes a conflict of interest since the city attorney is supposed to represent the entire council.

She also says the allegations are part of a plot cooked up by allies of Andersen to undermine her candidacy.

“I consider this dirty politics and slimy at best,” said Lambert, who has been a council member for almost six years. “I think it’s a diversion technique, to divert voters from the issues and to muddy up my name. I’m highly suspect--and any voter should be suspect--of the timing of this thing.”

But Andersen, a council member since 1983, said his rival is the one trying to divert attention from the allegations. “She’s trying to shift the focus, blame us and throw mud when she’s the one who should be looked at. . . . She’s not the victim. As I see it, she’s the perpetrator.”

Andersen, who has the support and endorsement of York and Councilman Chuck Bookhammer, said he decided to run for mayor because he believes he can bridge differences on the council and serve as an able spokesman for the city.

He has been critical of Lambert’s decision to hire a campaign consultant, saying, “I think if someone is going to represent Hawthorne, they shouldn’t have to rely on a consultant to tell them what they need to say.”

He promises to continue lobbying in support of senior-citizen programs, controlled redevelopment and increased police protection. He also favors raising business-license fees to generate money for more police.

Lambert, who is frequently at odds with her fellow council members, says her strength is her independence. Although some accuse her of being too much of an outsider on the City Council, she says, “I’m just not part of the governmental bureaucracy.”

She has often criticized her fellow council members for spending taxpayers’ money too freely and has lobbied in favor of commissioning a cost survey from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to see if the city could save money by disbanding its Police Department and contracting with the county.

Hawthorne residents “want a change,” Lambert said. “I think they don’t feel this government has been serving them in their best interest.”

Unlike the race for mayor, the candidates for the two council seats generally agree on most issues and include only one person who has held public office.

In addition to Ainsworth, the other candidates for council include: aerospace executive Martha Bails, Compton businessman Larry Guidi, legislative aide Paul Krehbiel, land-use consultant Raymon Sulser and attorney Jimmie L. Williams Jr.

The large field of candidates was generated by the absence of incumbents, and it underscores a growing sense in Hawthorne--among both candidates and voters--that the community is at a crossroads.

Lax development standards, particularly in the largely minority and densely populated community of Moneta Gardens, triggered a population boom in Hawthorne during the 1980s that was unequaled by any other South Bay city. In the last decade, the city’s population swelled to more than 70,000 residents, a 26.4% increase over the 1980 Census.

As a result of the population increase, crime has been on the rise. But voters rejected two recent attempts to impose higher property taxes to pay for more police.

Most of the candidates say the city’s own police force could better fight crime through the help of resident volunteers, but Bails and Sulser argue the Police Department is top heavy and needs to be reorganized.

On other issues, the candidates generally agree: all support proposals to curtail apartment development and increase home ownership, and all favor redevelopment along the city’s main thoroughfares, including Imperial Highway and Hawthorne Boulevard.

Ainsworth, who has been mayor for the past six years, is campaigning on her record, particularly in lobbying for senior citizens and spearheading redevelopment. Although she is among the smallest fund-raiser this election, she is considered the candidate to beat because she is so well-known throughout the city.

“I’m running on my record, my position with seniors, my independence,” Ainsworth said. “I’m accessible to the community. I encourage people to call me if they have problems, and I get involved in problem solving. I work directly with the people.”

Also considered a top contender is businessman Guidi, who led all candidates in fund-raising with $13,000 in donations during the first reporting period ending Sept. 21.

An active community volunteer, Guidi has made crime the main issue of his campaign. If elected, he promises to organize residents into crime-prevention groups. As a way to stop prostitution along Imperial Highway, he proposes putting volunteers on street corners with cameras to scare away prospective solicitors.

“The only way we can get the streets back is through the involvement of people,” said Guidi, who has been endorsed by council members York and Bookhammer, as well as the Hawthorne Firefighters’ Political Action Committee.

Williams, who also received a contribution from the firefighters, has stacked up his own list of endorsements.

The only black running for thecouncil, Williams has the support of several black state and federal legislators, including U.S. Rep. Mervyn M. Dymally (D-Compton), state Sen. Diane Watson, (D-Los Angeles) and Assemblywoman Gwen Moore (D-Los Angeles). With those endorsements, Williams says he has the connections to ensure that federal and state legislators “assist our city in its economic development.”

He blames the city’s leaders for allowing rampant development in Moneta Gardens, a 30-block community in the southeast corner of the city that accounts for about 30% of the city’s crime. He also says the council could do a better job of addressing the needs of the city’s minority residents, and he has proposed creating a committee on intergroup relations that would help foster racial harmony among the city’s ethnic groups.

The committee would “identify all of the issues as (they) relate to race and, hopefully, be prepared to put forth a report on how we, as elected representatives, can best create a harmonious environment within our city,” Williams said.

The willingness of Guidi and Williams to take money from the Hawthorne firefighters’ political action committee has been criticized by the other candidates.

At a forum Tuesday night, Bails, Sulser and Krehbiel all decried “influence peddling” by special-interest groups and said they have strict policies against receiving donations from anyone doing business with, or employed by, the city.

Bails and Sulser, who support each other’s campaigns, say they would bring to the council extensive knowledge about budgeting and planning issues. Bails has 30 years of experience analyzing budgets, while Sulser spent 11 years on the Planning Commission.

With the support of Lambert, Bails and Sulser have also urged that the city undertake a study comparing the cost of its police services with those offered by the Sheriff’s Department. But that proposal has consistently been rejected by the majority of council members, who argue that city’s voters have made it clear in recent elections that they want to retain the local police force.

Bails and Sulser are campaigning on an anti-tax platform, and both insist there has been wasteful spending at City Hall. If elected, they promise to cut back on travel and the number of city officials who receive car allowances and cellular phone privileges.

“The current council does not listen to all residents and taxpayer’s concerns,” Bails said. “They pay attention to those who want to increase taxes and fees without analyzing and reviewing what spending is taking place currently in the city and is that spending necessary.”

Like Bails and Sulser, Krehbiel also describes the council as unresponsive to residents, particularly when their wishes are pitted against those of developers.

A former labor organizer who is supported by several local labor unions, Krehbiel says the council ought to require developers to pay for badly needed city services in return for an opportunity to build in the city.

Saying he would work hard to represent “working people” in the city, Krehbiel has proposed setting up an advocate’s office where people “who don’t feel they have a lot of resources to call on” can receive advice on everything from where to receive vocational training to how to deal with a problem with their trash collection service.

“In the last 11 years, we have seen the largest shift in wealth from the pockets of the middle- class and working people into the pockets of the wealthy through the tax structure,” Krehbiel said. “What we need is a fair budget and a fair tax and fee structure that isn’t going to burden anybody.”

Hawthorne Candidates Vie for Mayor, 2 Council Seats

COUNCIL CANDIDATES

Betty Ainsworth

Age: 65

Occupation: Semi-retired accountant

“I’m running on my record, my position with seniors, my independence. . . . I believe in the quality of life. I’m accessible to the community. I encourage people to call me if they have problems and I get involved in problem-solving. I work directly with the people.”

Martha Bails

Age: 50

Occupation: Executive planning adviser

“The current council does not listen to all residents’ and taxpayers’ concerns. They pay attention only to those who want to increase taxes and fees without analyzing and reviewing what spending is taking place currently in the city and is that spending necessary.”

Larry Guidi

Age: 33

Occupation: Businessman

“I’m hoping to first bring a sense of community back. Everyone says, ‘I don’t care anymore, I just live here.’ People are just sitting home because they feel no matter how hard they fight, they keep losing the battle against crime, drugs and gangs. But I’m saying let’s take the streets away from them. Let’s bankrupt the drug dealers and get the streets back.”

Paul Krehbiel

Age: 43

Occupation: Legislative aide

“What local government should be all about is finding ways to encourage participation from all sectors of society, finding ways to shape the future. I don’t think that happens enough in Hawthorne. I think there is a certain feeling of frustration on the part of voters that what we need are some new faces, new ideas and more responsive government.”

Ray Sulser

Age: 65

Occupation: Land-use consultant.

“We’ve got to make a change in the city. We’ve got to stop the unnecessary spending and the raising of taxes. We’ve also got to get businesses back in the city to improve (Hawthorne) Boulevard. . . . We need people with the knowledge, the dedication and the expertise, and that’s where Martha (Bails) and I fit in.”

Jimmie L. Williams Jr.

Age: 28

Occupation: Lawyer

“I would like to develop a council of intergroup relations to bring representatives from each ethnic group to help plan Hawthorne’s progress to the year 2000. This group would help foster, promote and encourage racial harmony and give the many diverging ethnicities an opportunity to have their concerns heard and taken care of.”

MAYORAL CANDIDATES

Steve Andersen

Age: 49

Occupation: Lawyer

“I would like to see the council and the city escalate our war against crime and gangs. I’d like to see us continue the successful and controlled redevelopment projects that we’ve begun. I also want to continue the senior citizen programs that we have begun . . . and continue to encourage the building of single-family housing.”

Ginny McGinnis Lambert

Age: 59

Occupation: Administrative assistant

“I hear from the community that they want a change. I think the citizens don’t feel this government has been serving them in their best interest regarding redevelopment, high-density development, gang activity and runaway drug abuse. I also think people feel they’re being taxed to death.”